Well, I remembered a while back someone mentioning the torque app for android phones and using a bluetooth OBDII reader. Sort of forgot about it until the other day when someone brought something similar to the board and went and looked at the app again and decided to try it out.

I went to E-bay and bought a ELM327 OBDII V1.4 Auto Car Bluetooth Diagnostic for $19.99 buy it now. Seen them go a little cheaper if you hold out for an auction but hate to wait and this was the cheapest buy it now:

It also shipped from US so it only took 4 days to get here and it arrived this morning in the mail. Went to the Android market and downloaded the free version of Torque (not nearly as good as the pay version) and tried it out. Ended up going ahead and got the paid version for $4.99. After trying to hunt the pair code which for this one was 6789 it said pair but not connected. Found out you have to go into Torque setting and connect it there in the settings but after that it went well.

Review

I LOVE IT. One of my best cheap mods for just $24.98

Thats simple, lol. There is so much you can get off this. And after setting up you vehicle in Torque and changing everything to US standards(defaults are metric), I went out for several test drives. You can get Horsepower, Torque, engine temps, tranny temps, revs, accel, gps, rpms, so on and so on. There is so much you can do for this. Took a little getting used to setting it up. You select the gauge type then it will give you the options of what it will read. That was a little confusing at first but got it figured out fast enough.

It showed I got 0-60 in 9.8 seconds producing 103 hp. I repeated that twice with the same results. I think that pretty good with those weight hog Goodyear MT/r w/kevlars

No, tranny temps are not working. they suppose to be working on it though. Other features are great though and well worth getting the app. I did get the DRIVE app for tranny temp but have to say it was a pain to get working but does work now.

I have also been using the ELM327 with Torque. I use it on trips and run stats in the background. It's an awesome app! This app and Backcountry Navigator are constantly running on my phone.

I have to warn you that the ELM327's are sometimes finicky when pairing. Mine has managed to work using 2 pairing codes, the first time 6789, then on subsequent times, it only worked with 1234. Strange... but ultimately, it worked after some headache trying to get it paired. You can imagine that I was adamant that 6789 was the right code, since that worked the last time, and wasted much time on that code, until I said, what the hell, lets try the suggested 1234 by Android, and that worked .

No, tranny temps are not working. they suppose to be working on it though. Other features are great though and well worth getting the app. I did get the DRIVE app for tranny temp but have to say it was a pain to get working but does work now.

Can't speak for the 2012's

I tried drive for my 2011 JKU last night and couldn't get it to work, so I refunded it before the 15 minute time frame ran out. What did you have to do to get it working? My adapter works fine for torque, but I couldn't get drive to work.

I hadn't been able to get my Drive to work since I got it 3 months ago. Didn't have time to try it before the 15 minutes was up.

This last time 2 days ago, I first changed it to Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep 2007+ as recommended by the person pushing the app here and then selected reset Bluetooth and ran. Got an error message while trying to load data. So I switched back to Wrangler 2007+ and reset the Bluetooth again and it all of a sudden worked.

I love my Torque app though. Especially use it to determine better driving habits for better fuel mileage. I like seeing the mpg usage gauge. I like see all the stats too. Great app, I hope they get the temp to work soon. That would make it great.

Interesting, I wondered if certain features just weren't available from the ECU, like that temp. Will have to give Drive a try, thanks for the tip! I really would love to have something monitor Oil Pressure. Do you guys know of any app that will do that? I think with the JK not having an oil pressure gauge, I always wonder if you could land the oil pan on a rock and get a leak and not know it till it's too late. It would be nice to use the app to keep an eye on the oil pressure or set an alarm if it drops after one of those "whoops" events.

I think you can only get data that the ECU uses, and otherwise it just isn't there to read. Transmission temp on the '12 is always exactly the same value as the water temperature. So, I think the ECU is only making use of water temperature. Perhaps there is no trans temp sensor. I concur, the cheap OBD II reader and the torque app are really great for the dirt cheap price. Adding a 90 degree extension cable to connect the reader to, so that it isn't hanging down where your foot can (and WILL) hit it and damage your OBD II plug is a real good idea. I had to use some glue and JB Weld to reconstruct part of my OBDII plug under the dash, so that it would still stay fastened into the metal holder under there, after I smacked it good with my left foot getting in once. A two foot cord is about ten bucks and will put your reader over on the trans/engine hump behind the center console. A 6 foot extension cord will get it up between the seats somewhere, where you can actually easily plug the reader in. I wonder how long these super-cheap readers will last if you leave them plugged in all the time?

I just ordered one from amazon, like the idea of the extension cord. I have an old Droid X with no service, I am planning on keeping it in the jeep in a windshield cradel just for a temp gauge, Not sure if it will work. The Droid apps all work on wi-fi in the house with no service, but I'm not sure if the bluetooth will still work with no service. I will find out soon.

I just ordered one from amazon, like the idea of the extension cord. I have an old Droid X with no service, I am planning on keeping it in the jeep in a windshield cradel just for a temp gauge, Not sure if it will work. The Droid apps all work on wi-fi in the house with no service, but I'm not sure if the bluetooth will still work with no service. I will find out soon.

Should work fine. Just turn on airplane mode then turn on Bluetooth. It uses a separate radio

Here is some inside info on the wrangler tranny temp, it requires more than just a code to send to get temp. There is some handshaking that is required with the tranny cpu (not the default engine cpu). I believe that is why sometimes the app "Drive" is finicky about connecting, but works well after that initial connection.

Also in answer to the above about getting an Android phone without service ... it will work just fine since it has a wifi (and bluetooth) and you can use anywhere wifi is freely available (like McDonalds ) to download apps...that is what I did for my older neighbor who is not techno. Just enable Bluetooth in the settings (and wifi for downloading apps, then you can disable in settings if you like) and that's it.

To show full disclosure , I push "Drive" because I wrote it. I developed Drive and added the Wrangler by using a 2007 Wrangler with the 4 speed auto. The 4 speed tranny hasn't changed until 2012 (5 speed NAG1 I believe..... let me know if I'm wrong..Chrysler/Jeep has been known to change in the prior year, so there "may" be some 2011's with the 5 speed). So if you want to try it, then don't worry about Google's 15 min refund policy (which I think sucks...it should be at least 8 hours). Just be a member of the wrangler forum and I'll be generous with the refund time (like 5 days).

Also if you run both Torque and drive, if you run torque, you will have to reset the bluetooth in Drive before it ill connect. Torque doesn't need resetting when you go back to it but once you go back to drive again you will get an error if you don't reset again. A pain but both apps are so worth the time.

Here is some inside info on the wrangler tranny temp, it requires more than just a code to send to get temp. There is some handshaking that is required with the tranny cpu (not the default engine cpu). I believe that is why sometimes the app "Drive" is finicky about connecting, but works well after that initial connection.

Also in answer to the above about getting an Android phone without service ... it will work just fine since it has a wifi (and bluetooth) and you can use anywhere wifi is freely available (like McDonalds ) to download apps...that is what I did for my older neighbor who is not techno. Just enable Bluetooth in the settings (and wifi for downloading apps, then you can disable in settings if you like) and that's it.

To show full disclosure , I push "Drive" because I wrote it. I developed Drive and added the Wrangler by using a 2007 Wrangler with the 4 speed auto. The 4 speed tranny hasn't changed until 2012 (5 speed NAG1 I believe..... let me know if I'm wrong..Chrysler/Jeep has been known to change in the prior year, so there "may" be some 2011's with the 5 speed). So if you want to try it, then don't worry about Google's 15 min refund policy (which I think sucks...it should be at least 8 hours). Just be a member of the wrangler forum and I'll be generous with the refund time (like 5 days).

Ordered my elm Monday, delivery Friday. Connected with Torque. Everything is working. This is an OBDII reader with some bells and whistles. Can't change settings like tpms, but good value for under $25.

I am downloading the Backcountry Navigator as I type. The Android reviews were pretty positive. 16-day free demo; $10 to purchase.

Looks promising

Keep in mind, the maps can get HUGE if you download all 15 zoom levels (I hit like 8 gigs on SoCal and half of AZ, but then again, those are dense areas). So, select only the areas that you really need, and be prepared for a lengthy download time (do it on Wi-Fi!). But, hey, the maps are free, and I've spent a crap ton on Garmin maps, so can appreciate how awesome it is to get these for free! If you decide to upgrade, your stuff transfers over, so that's a plus.